Joe Howard ran his fingers through his dirty blond hair. He seemed somewhat surprised when his fingers came free only a centimetre from his head. It was not obvious but he seemed nervous. If you studied him for an hour or so, which was exactly what the driver had been doing, you would notice that he turned to look over his shoulder every couple of minutes. His fingers twitched towards his belt whenever someone spoke or looked at him. The driver did not know this of course. He wasn't good enough. The driver just thought that the man was a little different to the people he often drove around.

The man himself seemed perfectly normal. A short crop of very light brown hair, almost blond; blue eyes; average height; average weight; athletic, although this was not surprising from where he was going.

"So you're joining the SAS huh?" The driver asked trying to start a conversation. They had been travelling nearly an hour now and not a word had been uttered between them apart from where to go and how much it would be.

"Yes." Joe replied shortly. Not harshly, just hinting that he was not about to start a conversation.

"You seem young. How long have you been in the army?"

"I've been serving my country for just over 2 years now. I've seen more than most." The driver just nodded, not knowing what to say to that. It showed in Joe's eyes that he was not willing to talk about it. It hurt him to see that someone who looked so young could be so broken.

They pulled up alongside the gates of the army barracks. The driver had discovered no more about the soldier sat behind him than when they had started the journey but the silence was not uncomfortable. The 2 men were just left to their own thoughts; offering each other the same privacy and peace that they both so desperately wanted.

"Name please." The soldier at the gates asked as Joe got out of the taxi.

"Joseph Howard." Joe replied. The soldier nodded and passed him through the gates while the taxi turned away.

"The Sergeants office is on the left in there," the soldier said pointing to a barrack. "Number 11 I think it is. It's on the end anyway." Joe nodded, a little surprised at the soldier's accepting and generally friendly attitude. He didn't get that often and he certainly hadn't been expecting it. Joe regarded and thanked him with a wary look and the soldier was taken aback by his unemotional face as he turned and walked away. What could have happened to that poor man so that he did not trust anyone, even one on the same team?

"Come in." The Sergeant barked as he knocked on the door. Joe stepped inside and silently closed the door behind him before standing to attention and saluting. "Joseph Howard." He asked, more as a statement than a question. Joe nodded and the Sergeant continued. "I've heard a lot about you and your talent but very little of what you have actually done. You seemed to have appeared out of thin air 2 months ago and astounded your training group so much with your talents that you were redirected here as it was believed that your talent would be put to better use." The sergeant paused. "I don't like not having my questions answered. Care to tell me where you learnt?" The sergeant ordered.

"I used to shoot with my uncle regularly when I was a boy. He too was in the army. He taught me everything I know." Joe said with feeling saddened at the memory but none of it reached his face and the Sergeant certainly knew nothing about it.

"Let's hope that you've more than just a good shot if you are to survive here. I will take any opportunity I get to bin you. If you do not keep up, you get binned. If you disobey orders you will be binned. If you cause problems of any kind you will be binned. I'm sure I will find a way to bin you somehow." the sergeant studied him for a minute. "You will now be known as Jaguar. What are you still doing here?" He barked.

Joe turned quickly on his heel and walked from the room just as silently as he had entered. The sergeant heard no footsteps in the hall outside his office door, nor did he hear the opening and closing of the outside door which often slammed loudly even with the softest of touches. Yet as he looked down the hall it was most definitely empty. Something was going on but he didn't know what. There was something different about that man. He seemed young, underage perhaps, but yet his file and his eyes told a different story. He was 23. He seemed perfect in everything he had done so far; no one could fault him, but yet something didn't add up. The sergeant did not believe that there was such a thing as a perfect soldier, or even a perfect person for that matter. It just couldn't be true. He was lying somehow and the Sergeant would find it out.

What do you think? You've probably already worked out who Joe actually is but for those who haven't it will become clear later on. This is my first FanFic so I am a little nervous about whether or not it is any good. Is the chapter the right sort of length? I was planning on making it a little longer as I know how annoying it is to have really short chapters. I will update soon so please review!